The effectiveness of strength-based executive coaching in enhancing transformational leadership

This study attempts to investigate the effectiveness of a strength-based coaching methodology in enhancing transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is the process whereby leaders engage and influence their followers towards attaining a shared vision through their capacity to inspire, innovate and personalize their attention. A between-subject quasi-experimental design was used to explore the impact of strength based coaching on transformational and transactional leadership behaviours measured in a 360-degree feedback process. Thirty-seven executives and senior managers from a large not-for-profit organisation were non-randomly assigned to either a coaching or waitlist cohort. The coaching cohort received six sessions of leadership coaching involving feedback on leadership and strengths, goal setting and strengths development. The coaching process was manualised (via a six session strengths-based coaching manual) to ensure some methodological consistency between the 11 executive coaches providing the intervention. After 6 sessions of coaching over three months, cohorts then switched roles. The results showed that participants experienced highly statistically significant increases in their transformational leadership behaviour after coaching and this difference was perceived at all levels within the organisation but not by the participants themselves. Adherence to the strength-based protocol was also a significant predictor of ultimate degree of change in transformational leadership behaviour. The results suggest that strength based coaching may be effective in the development of transformational leaders